Tēnā koe William

I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act (OIA) request below, received by New Zealand Police on 25 September 2021.

Your request is being actioned pursuant to the OIA. You can expect a response to your request on or before 26 October 2021.

Kind regards, Michelle
Ministerial Services PNHQ

-----Original Message-----
From: William Davidson <[FOI #16884 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 25 September 2021 1:56 PM
To: Ministerial Services <[New Zealand Police request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Official Information request - Use of drones over southland

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear New Zealand Police,
I am seeking specific information data , or documentation over the use of what appears to be dozens of drones over invercargill in the last year, to simplify my request , as a nz citizen I would like to request how many drones , have been deployed over invercargill in the months of July August September 2021, by the Nz police, offcanz gscb or whoever holds The information regarding my request, also any documentation data or information as to what their use is for, I personally have recorded and witnessed dozens of drones, flying or sitting idly in the sky for 20 plus hours at a time, and certainly appear to be operated by law enforcement , are they being used for surveillance , and is this surveillance legal.

Yours faithfully,

William Davidson

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #16884 email]

Is [New Zealand Police request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to New Zealand Police? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

===============================================================
WARNING
The information contained in this email message is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this message or any of its contents.
Also note, the views expressed in this message may not necessarily reflect those of the New Zealand Police. If you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately

hide quoted sections

Morena William, I have passed your email to the Southern District Police team responding to the request.

Kind regards, Michelle
Ministerial Services PNHQ

-----Original Message-----
From: William Davidson <[FOI #16884 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 29 September 2021 3:57 AM
To: Ministerial Services <[New Zealand Police request email]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: OIA acknowledgement IR-01-21-28988 - Use of drones over southland

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Dear Ministerial Services,
Can I please extend my wording of "Drones" to include UAV, remotely flown air craft ,and , helicopters possibly (snark type) my apologies if this has caused an inconvenience, I'm not entirely sure what these things are , so am hoping to broaden the spectrum.

Yours sincerely,

William Davidson

-----Original Message-----

Tēnā koe William

I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act (OIA) request below, received by New Zealand Police on 25 September 2021.

Your request is being actioned pursuant to the OIA. You can expect a response to your request on or before 26 October 2021.

Kind regards, Michelle
Ministerial Services PNHQ

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #16884 email]

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

===============================================================
WARNING
The information contained in this email message is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this message or any of its contents.
Also note, the views expressed in this message may not necessarily reflect those of the New Zealand Police. If you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the sender immediately

hide quoted sections

Kia ora William,

 

On 25 September 2021 you requested:

 

I am seeking specific information data , or documentation over the use of
what appears to be dozens of drones over invercargill in the last year, to
simplify my request , as a nz citizen I would like to request how many
drones , have  been deployed over invercargill in the months of July
August September 2021, by the Nz police, offcanz gscb or  whoever holds
The information regarding my request, also any documentation data or
information as to what their  use is for, I personally have recorded and
witnessed dozens of drones, flying or sitting idly in the sky for 20 plus
 hours at a time, and certainly appear to be operated by law enforcement ,
are they being used for surveillance , and is this surveillance legal.

 

On 29 September 2021 you extended your request:

 

Can I please extend my wording of "Drones" to include UAV, remotely flown
air craft ,and , helicopters possibly (snark type) my apologies if this
has caused an inconvenience, I'm not entirely sure what these things are ,
so am hoping to broaden the spectrum.

 

Police did not use any drones or similar aircraft in the specified area
and time period.

 

We have transferred your request to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as
Police do not hold the requested information and we believe your request
is more closely connected to their functions and activities, as permitted
under section 14(b)(ii) of the Official Information Act 1982.  The CAA
will respond to you directly.

 

Ngā mihi,

 

Rachel

 

Rachel Milne

Te Wai Pounamu Information Request Team

Canterbury Supervisor

Service Delivery

 

P  105 ext. 36624 or 36457

E  [1][email address]

 

[2]wordmark transparent

 

[3][IMG][4][IMG][5][IMG][6][IMG]

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

WARNING

The information contained in this email message is intended for the
addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be
subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which
creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you
are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this
message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this
message or any of its contents. Also note, the views expressed in this
message may not necessarily reflect those of the New Zealand Police. If
you have received this message in error, please email or telephone the
sender immediately.

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.youtube.com/user/policenz
4. http://www.police.govt.nz/facebook
5. http://www.police.govt.nz/twitter
6. http://www.police.govt.nz/instagram

hide quoted sections

Tçnâ koe William Davidson

 

I acknowledge receipt of your OIA request transferred to CAA 15 October
2021 for –

 

“I am seeking specific information data , or documentation over the use of
what appears to be dozens of drones over invercargill in the last year, to
simplify my request , as a nz citizen I would like to request how many
drones , have  been deployed over invercargill in the months of July
August September 2021, by the Nz police, offcanz gscb or  whoever holds
The information regarding my request, also any documentation data or
information as to what their  use is for, I personally have recorded and
witnessed dozens of drones, flying or sitting idly in the sky for 20 plus
 hours at a time, and certainly appear to be operated by law enforcement ,
are they being used for surveillance , and is this surveillance legal.

 

Can I please extend my wording of "Drones" to include UAV, remotely flown
air craft ,and , helicopters possibly (snark type) my apologies if this
has caused an inconvenience, I'm not entirely sure what these things are ,
so am hoping to broaden the spectrum.”

 

 

We received your request on 15 October 2021. We will endeavour to respond
to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 15
November 2021, being 20 working days after your request was received.

 

If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of
an extension of that timeframe. Your request is being handled by the OIA
Team. If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us at
[1][email address]

 

If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your
request, please do not hesitate to contact us so that these can be taken
into account.              

 

Ngâ mihi

 

Bridgette Chisnall (she/her) | Official Information and Privacy
Coordinator

Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand  Q Aviation Security Service

Te Mana Rererangi Tûmatanui o Aotearoa  |  Kaiwhakamaru Rererangi

 

Legal Services

* Level 15, Asteron Centre, 55 Featherston Street, Wellington 6011, PO Box
3555, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

 

 

This e-mail (and its accompanying attachments) is intended for the named
recipient only and may contain information that is confidential and
subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient please
inform the sender and destroy the message. If you have received this
message in error you must not distribute or copy this e-mail or its
attachments. The Civil Aviation Authority accepts no responsibility for
any changes made to this message after the transmission from the Civil
Aviation Authority. Before opening or using attachments, check them for
viruses and other effects. This communication may be accessed or retained
for information assurance and cyber security purposes.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]

Tçnâ koe William Davidson

 

I refer to your OIA request transferred to CAA 15 October 2021 for –

 

“I am seeking specific information data , or documentation over the use of
what appears to be dozens of drones over invercargill in the last year, to
simplify my request , as a nz citizen I would like to request how many
drones , have  been deployed over invercargill in the months of July
August September 2021, by the Nz police, offcanz gscb or  whoever holds
The information regarding my request, also any documentation data or
information as to what their  use is for, I personally have recorded and
witnessed dozens of drones, flying or sitting idly in the sky for 20 plus
 hours at a time, and certainly appear to be operated by law enforcement ,
are they being used for surveillance , and is this surveillance legal.

 

Can I please extend my wording of "Drones" to include UAV, remotely flown
air craft ,and , helicopters possibly (snark type) my apologies if this
has caused an inconvenience, I'm not entirely sure what these things are ,
so am hoping to broaden the spectrum.”

DECISION

 

There is no requirement or mechanism for drones/unmanned aircraft to be
registered in NZ. Most drone operators operate under the [1]Part 101
rules.

 

Part 101

Under Part 101, operators are not required to seek authorisation from the
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). They are also not required to keep records
of their flights. As such, the CAA have no direct oversight of these
operators. Part 101 applies to both recreational and commercial users,
meaning a wide range of activities can be conducted without any
interaction with the CAA. Consequently, the CAA have no capability to
track drones/unmanned aircraft or obtain any statistics.  This element of
your request is therefore refused in accordance with s 18(g) of the
Official Information Act 1982 as the information is not held by the CAA
and not held by any other department.

 

Part 102

A Part 102 Unmanned Aircraft Operator Certificate is designed for
operators who need to operate outside of the standard Part 101 rules.
These operators are known to CAA and go through a complex certification
process with us. These operators should be keeping records of their
flights undertaken, but CAA do not gather those statistics. A list of Part
102 certified organisations can be accessed at the link below:

[2]https://www.aviation.govt.nz/drones/list...

 

If you are concerned that CAA regulations are being breached, we suggest
providing additional supporting details so that these claims can be
investigated. Information about how to raise an aviation safety concern
can be accessed at the link below:
[3]https://www.aviation.govt.nz/about-us/co...

You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[4]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

 

We hope this assists with your query. If you have any further questions,
please do not hesitate to get in contact.

Ngâ mihi

 

Bridgette Chisnall (she/her) | Official Information and Privacy
Coordinator

Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand  Q Aviation Security Service

Te Mana Rererangi Tûmatanui o Aotearoa  |  Kaiwhakamaru Rererangi

 

Legal Services

* Level 15, Asteron Centre, 55 Featherston Street, Wellington 6011, PO Box
3555, Wellington, 6140, New Zealand

P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

 

 

This e-mail (and its accompanying attachments) is intended for the named
recipient only and may contain information that is confidential and
subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient please
inform the sender and destroy the message. If you have received this
message in error you must not distribute or copy this e-mail or its
attachments. The Civil Aviation Authority accepts no responsibility for
any changes made to this message after the transmission from the Civil
Aviation Authority. Before opening or using attachments, check them for
viruses and other effects. This communication may be accessed or retained
for information assurance and cyber security purposes.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.aviation.govt.nz/rules/rule-...
2. https://www.aviation.govt.nz/drones/list...
3. https://www.aviation.govt.nz/about-us/co...
4. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/